The Essential List: Zach Deblaey
Zach DeBlaey is a creative director at Minneapolis creative agency Colle McVoy where he’s created award-winning work for clients like 3M, Invisalign, La-Z-Boy, Cub Cadet, the Ad Council, Jackson Hole and Perdue for more than a decade. Before a career in advertising, he served as a 10th grade teacher in Mississippi for two years after college. When he’s not working, he’s hanging out with his wife and their dog, or walking around the lake near their house, or dusting off a synthesiser or drum machine and telling himself he might really make something with it today.
Lifestyle
o Place of birth: Moline, Illinois
o Hometown: Moline, Illinois
o Staycation: NYC
o Vacation: Lisbon
o Pet: Lola, a four-year-old bernedoodle
o Place of work: Colle McVoy
o Place of workout: The streets (meaning walking and - very occasionally - running on them)
o Side project: Like many other 30-something dudes, I own too many drum machines and synthesisers that are collecting dust.
o Mode of transport: Love a good walk.
o Bonus travel essential: Headphones - always headphones.
Culture
o Artist: Barbara Kruger
o Musician: Beach House
o Commercials/music video director: Few threads both needles as well as Spike Jonze
o Film director: Martin Scorsese
o Photographer: Fred Herzog
o Film: 'When Harry Met Sally' (perfect script, perfect film)
o Series: Is it cliché if I say, Mad Men'? Yeah. But is it still one of the greatest series of all time? Yeah.
o Commercial: So many, but that FedEx metal band commercial from years ago still gets me
o Music video: Jamie XX - 'Gosh' - stunning visuals
o Video game: Can’t beat Mario Kart on N64
o Board game: Board games … not for me
o Book: Just finished 'The Guest' by Emma Cline. Loved it - highly recommend.
o Graphic novel: Open to recommendations here
o Podcast: 'Normal Gossip' always delivers
o Newspaper (offline or online): The New York Times
o Magazine: The New Yorker
o Bonus culture essential: Defector.com - love all the writers over there.
Food and Drink
o Breakfast: Keep it light - yogurt bowl with fruit
o Restaurant: Our favourite restaurant just closed, so I’m on the hunt for a new one. RIP, KinhDo.
o Cheap bite: A banh mi
o Working lunch: (huge, existential sigh) A salad
o Favourite dish: EVER? There are so many.
o Signature dish: This cedar plank smoked salmon I make on the grill.
o Snack: All of them
o Guilty pleasure: Lots of them
o Bar: Donnelly’s - an old college haunt
o Booze: Toppling Goliath’s Pseudo Sue
o Not booze: Coffee
o Bonus food: Trader Joe’s dried mango
o Bonus beverage: Sparkling water
Kit
o Phone: iPhone
o Computer: Mac
o TV: Samsung … I think.
o Headphones: Sony MDR-7506 - these are affordable and legitimately some of the best sounding cans you can own
o Camera: Fujifilm X-T3
o Sound system: LCD
o Pen/pencil: Pen
o Where you document an idea: Half-filled notebooks, haphazard Notes app missives.
o Casual clothing: When the weather’s right, a hoodie
o Smart clothing: Feels good to don a sharp suit every now and then
o Footwear: Thankfully my VEJAs go with most everything
o Watch: Apple, again
o Collection: The stack of books on my nightstand I have yet to get to
o App: Lately the air quality app on my phone
o Website: Stereogum has long been a favourite
o Favourite social media feed: These days, Instagram, I guess.
o Analogue work tool: Paper and pen
o Morning grooming/makeup essential: Moisturiser with sunscreen. You gotta wear sunscreen, folks.
o Bonus kit essential: I know I said it before, but it bears repeating sunscreen.
